Custom Stand for tank w/ built in overflow

jim mcgonigle

jim mcgonigle

New Member
I bought a 125 AGA tank with dual built in overflows. The stand I had designed is not going to work because the overflow holes are to close to the corner. I'm going to need to design a stand that does not have full support at the back corners. I have one designed, but I was hoping somebody has made a stand or owns a stand that they could take a picture of or explain how its engineered.
Thanks,
-Jim
 
broncofish

broncofish

Active Member
Sorry Jim my stand is about 6" too long to accomodate the overflows. Would like to see what you come up with, and maybe I'll give it a shot also:D
 
foxthorn

foxthorn

Member
I'm trying to solve this same issue... I'd love to see some more ideas if anyone out there has some! Bump. :)
 
ac

ac

Member
Well I guess I can jump on this bandwagon also. I had already framed my stand when my tank arrived and discovered the same problem you folks have. I think what I'll do is cut the back corners down and just reinforce around the step I cut. Attached is a picture of how it is now, I'll post a picture of my fix when it's done. Good luck everyone
 
jim mcgonigle

jim mcgonigle

New Member
I finished my this weekend based on these plans. Worked like a charm, and isn't going to have any issues with the weight. I'll take some pictures in the next day or so and post them.
 
foxthorn

foxthorn

Member
Here's a look at what I'm thinking of doing. Pretty similar to many that I've seen shown on this board. I've just changed the upper left corner to make room for the AGA overflow on my 90.
Does anyone think this would not be sturdy/strong enough??
Thanks.
 
jim mcgonigle

jim mcgonigle

New Member
your cross braces need to be braced by something to the floor. besides that you will be ok.
also, depending on how close your putting your tank to that back corner, the overflows can hit. mine are only 1 1/2 from the corner of the tank.
See these pictures to see what i did (sorry they are a little small):
http://home.earthlink.net/~jmcgonig/aquarium/stand1.JPG
http://home.earthlink.net/~jmcgonig/aquarium/stand2.JPG
The one thing that is hard to see is that back corner only has 1 2x4, the rest is open (like the plans above).
-Jim
 
foxthorn

foxthorn

Member
I'll be putting on plywood all the way around the stand - would this be enough 'cross-bracing'? This is for a 90gal. Total expected weight is 1700 lb. (as estimated from here )
The dimensions of my stand are 48.75 x 18.75 x 33.
 
jim mcgonigle

jim mcgonigle

New Member
what i mean is that your green boards have no ability to support weight. The only weight supporting members are the ouside edges. You want to distribute the weight throughout the frame as much as possible.
It would probably work, but if you get any torque from the top it could collapse IMHO. I see 10 supports for 1700lbs. That's 170/lbs a support. My goal was to keep that number under 100lbs and acutally ended up with around 45lbs. It might be overkill because of the length, but I wasn't going to take chances.
I would probably put a 2x4 across your orange boards, that would help.
Lastly, I would think about how much force from the sides it can take before it "folds".
-Jim
PS I've been accused of overengineering things before...
 
foxthorn

foxthorn

Member
Thanks for your input Jim.
Each corner except for the overflow corner has 3 2X4's. Thats 9, plus 2 at the overflow corner. Then there are 4 in the middle.
From what I hear the majority of the weight in a glass tank is pushed out toward the 4 corners - with less than you think being directed toward the middle of the tank. If we just consider the 4 corners that's 1700/4=425lb per corner. I'm thinking 3 2X4's on end should handle 425 - and we know it would not be the full 425. Hmmm. I think I'll add another (blue) vertical 2x4 in the overflow corner but it will have to be positioned between the top and bottom (not to the floor) in order to avoid the bulkheads.
And, yeah... if you look at the stock AGA stands - you just wouldn't think they would hold all that weight. Is there any reports out there of these stands collapsing?
 
newfishliny

newfishliny

Member

Originally posted by foxthorn
I'll be putting on plywood all the way around the stand - would this be enough 'cross-bracing'? This is for a 90gal. Total expected weight is 1700 lb. (as estimated from here )
The dimensions of my stand are 48.75 x 18.75 x 33.
Im just curious , you say 1700 lbs . water is aprox 8lbs a gal x 90=
720 lbs. tank is about 125 lbs . so is the rest rock and sand about 800 lbs. let me know because I HAVE A 90 GLASS
THANKS
NEW FISH
DON
 
foxthorn

foxthorn

Member
Well, I just used the web site I mentioned earlier and it gave me these results:
Water Type .................................... Saltwater Reef
Tank Material ................................. Glass
Tank Shape .................................... Rectangle
Length ............................................ 48 in
Width ............................................. 18 in
Height ............................................. 24 in
Wall Thickness ............................... .375 in
Tank Volume .................................. 90 gal (US)
Tank Material Weight ...................... 205 lbf
Water Volume ................................. 80 gal (US)
Water Weight .................................. 680 lbf
Substrate Type ................................. Sand
Substrate Depth ............................... 4 in
Substrate Weight .............................. 184 lbf
Approximate Total Weight ................ 1648 lbf
Now that I look at it closer: 205+680+184=1069. I'm not sure where they are getting the extra 579lbs from. ??? It's kind of lame if they add more stuff in there and don't itemize it out.
I sent them an e-mail - we'll see what they say.
 
broncofish

broncofish

Active Member
Want to give this a little bump for Overanalyzer. We should all give him a hand in welcoming him to thebig boy club, he's buying a big tank.
 
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